Stock Market Development And Economic Growth In Hong Kong: An Empirical Investigation

This paper examines the relationship between stock market development and economic growth using time-series data from Hong Kong. The study uses three proxies of stock market development, namely: stock market capitalisation, stock market traded value, and stock market turnover. Given the weaknesses associated with the traditional co-integration techniques, the current study uses the recently introduced ARDL-bounds testing approach to examine the nexus between stock market development and economic growth in a dynamic setting. The empirical results show that the direction of causality between stock market development and economic growth depends on the proxy used to measure the level of stock market development. When stock market capitalisation is used as a proxy for stock market development, a distinct unidirectional causal flow from stock market development to economic growth is found to prevail, without any feedback. However, when stock market turnover is used, a causal flow from economic growth to stock market development is found to prevail in the short run and in the long run, while a causal flow from stock market development to economic growth is only found in the short run. The causality between stock market traded value and economic growth, however, failed to yield any long-run causal relationship from either direction. Only a short-run causality flow from economic growth to stock market traded value could be detected in this case

Banking Sector Development And Economic Growth In Hong Kong: An Empirical Investigation

In this study, we examine the dynamic relationship between bank-based financial development and economic growth in Hong Kong. We attempt to answer one critical question: Does the relationship between bank-based financial development and economic growth in Hong Kong follow a supply-leading or a demand-following response? In other words, which sector drives economic development in Hong Kong – the real sector or the nominal sector? Unlike the majority of previous studies, this study uses the newly developed ARDL-bounds testing approach to examine this linkage. The ARDL-bounds testing approach has numerous advantages over other cointegration techniques, especially when a short time-series dataset is used. In order to test the robustness of the empirical results, two proxies of bank-based financial development have been used; namely: 1) the domestic credit provided by the banking sector as a ratio of GDP and 2) the banks' deposit as a ratio of GDP. Our empirical results show that the relationship between bank-based financial development and economic growth in Hong Kong is sensitive to the proxy used to measure the banking sector development. When domestic credit provided by the banking sector is used as a proxy for bank-based financial development, a distinct supply-leading response is found to prevail. However, when the banks' deposit is used as a proxy for bank development, a demand-following response is found to predominate. These results hold, irrespective of whether the causality is estimated in the short run or in the long run

THE SEQUENCING OF FINANCIAL REFORMS AND BANK-BASED FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN MAURITIUS

This paper presents the sequencing of the financial reforms and financial sector development in Mauritius. With the aid of selected data from the World Development Indicators and the Financial Structure database, the paper also gives an analysis of the resultant changes (due to reforms) in the banking sector of Mauritius during the post-financial reform period. Inclinations show increased financial development, which can mainly be explained by increased personal credit, deposits and financial products, and increased bank competition. The maintenance of a stable macroeconomic environment, as well as a strong prudential regulation and supervision landscape, are some of the factors that have enabled financial development to become a success in Mauritius

Maize (Zea mays L.) Genome Diversity as Revealed by RNA-Sequencing

Maize is rich in genetic and phenotypic diversity. Understanding the sequence, structural, and expression variation that contributes to phenotypic diversity would facilitate more efficient varietal improvement. RNA based sequencing (RNA-seq) is a powerful approach for transcriptional analysis, assessing sequence variation, and identifying novel transcript sequences, particularly in large, complex, repetitive genomes such as maize. In this study, we sequenced RNA from whole seedlings of 21 maize inbred lines representing diverse North American and exotic germplasm. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection identified 351,710 polymorphic loci distributed throughout the genome covering 22,830 annotated genes. Tight clustering of two distinct heterotic groups and exotic lines was evident using these SNPs as genetic markers. Transcript abundance analysis revealed minimal variation in the total number of genes expressed across these 21 lines (57.1% to 66.0%). However, the transcribed gene set among the 21 lines varied, with 48.7% expressed in all of the lines, 27.9% expressed in one to 20 lines, and 23.4% expressed in none of the lines. De novo assembly of RNA-seq reads that did not map to the reference B73 genome sequence revealed 1,321 high confidence novel transcripts, of which, 564 loci were present in all 21 lines, including B73, and 757 loci were restricted to a subset of the lines. RT-PCR validation demonstrated 87.5% concordance with the computational prediction of these expressed novel transcripts. Intriguingly, 145 of the novel de novo assembled loci were present in lines from only one of the two heterotic groups consistent with the hypothesis that, in addition to sequence polymorphisms and transcript abundance, transcript presence/absence variation is present and, thereby, may be a mechanism contributing to the genetic basis of heterosis

The Comparative Economics of ICT, Environmental Degradation and Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study examines how information and communication technology (ICT) could be employed to dampen the potentially damaging effects of environmental degradation in order to promote inclusive human development in a panel of 44 Sub-Saharan African countries. ICT is captured with internet and mobile phone penetration rates whereas environmental degradation is measured in terms of CO2 emissions per capita and CO2 intensity. The empirical evidence is based on Fixed Effects and Tobit regressions using data from 2000-2012. In order to increase the policy relevance of this study, the dataset is decomposed into fundamental characteristics of inclusive development and environmental degradation based on income levels (Low income versus (vs.) Middle income); legal origins (English Common law vs. French Civil law); religious domination (Christianity vs. Islam); openness to sea (Landlocked vs. Coastal); resource-wealth (Oil-rich vs. Oil-poor) and political stability (Stable vs. Unstable).Baseline findings broadly show that improvement in both of measures of ICT would significantly diminish the possibly harmful effect of CO2 emissions on inclusive human development. When the analysis is extended with the abovementioned fundamental characteristics, we observe that the moderating influence of both our ICT variables on CO2 emissions is higher in the group of English Common law, Middle income and Oil-wealthy countries than in the French Civil law, Low income countries and Oil-poor countries respectively. Theoretical and practical policy implications are discussed

THE SEQUENCING OF FINANCIAL REFORMS AND BANK-BASED FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN MAURITIUS

This paper presents the sequencing of the financial reforms and financial sector development in Mauritius. With the aid of selected data from the World Development Indicators and the Financial Structure database, the paper also gives an analysis of the resultant changes (due to reforms) in the banking sector of Mauritius during the post-financial reform period. Inclinations show increased financial development, which can mainly be explained by increased personal credit, deposits and financial products, and increased bank competition. The maintenance of a stable macroeconomic environment, as well as a strong prudential regulation and supervision landscape, are some of the factors that have enabled financial development to become a success in Mauritius